John Hawke

Research Interests

Investigation of the mechanisms of pathogenesis and virulence of emerging bacterial and parasitic diseases of intensively culture marine and freshwater fish.  Specific disease agents under investigation are Phobacterium damsela subsp. piscicida, Mycobacterium mariunum, Streptococcus iniae, Streptococcus difficule, and an unidentified digenetic trematode in channel catfish.  Other nterests include the study of vaccination of marine and freshwater species of fish using genetically altered live attenuated organisms.  A siderophore biosynthesis mutant of P. damsela subsp. piscicida, LSU-P1, generated in a previous study, will be evaluated as a live attenuated vaccine strain.  To effectively study the immune response of hybrid striped bass to vaccination and subsequent challenge in the laboratory and in the field, monoclonal antibody reagents to a predominant antigen on the cell surface of the bacterium and to the hybrid bass to vaccination and subsequent challenge in the laboratory and in the field, monoclonal antibody reagents to a predominant antigen on the cell surface of the bacterium and to the hybrid striped bass immunoglobulin are required.  These are currently being generated in our lab in cooperation with Dr. Robert Truax of the Tissue Culture Laboratory in the School of Veterinary Medicine.  Models for pathogenesis in various fish species are being used to investigate the effectiveness of immune stimulants such as B-glucans and live as well as killed vaccines.  Models for infection are also allowing study of mechanisms of attachment and invasion by bacterial pathogens.  I have an interest in developing methods to differentiate and compare different strains of fish pathogenic microorganisms based on ribosomal RNA and DNA nucleotide sequences.

Selected Publications

Hawke, J.P., R.M. Durborow, R.L. Thune and A.C. Camus.  1998.  ESC - Enteric Septicemia of Catfish.  Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC) Publication No. 477, 6pp.

Camus, A.C., R. L. Thune, J.P. Hawke and R.M. Durborow.  1998.  Aeromanas bacterial infections-motile aeromanad Septicemia (MAS).  Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC) Publication No. 478, 4pp.

Durborow, R.M., R.L. Thune, J.P. Hawke and A.C. Camus.  1998.  Columnaris Disease-A bacterial infection caused by Flavobacterium columnare.  Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC) Publication No. 479, 4pp.

Hawke, J.P.  1998.  Management of disease in mariculture, in Peter Smith Executive Editor, Feasibility Study Report:  Offshore Mariculture in the Gulf of Mexico.  Waldemar S. Nelson International, Inc., pA1-A35.

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